The crystal clear, blue water and the magnificent sun make the Caribbean island of Saint
Maarten a favorite vacation spot, one that is popular with North Americans during their winter
holidays from December through March, as well as with South Americans and Europeans from April
through August. The French and Dutch settled on the island in the 1600s, and to this day, the island is
Tourists soon discover that St. Maarten has an intriguing history. Ancient artifacts found on the
Indians inhabited all the islands of the West Indies and were a peaceful people living under the
History of St. Maarten
divided between the two of them. The French capital is Marigot; the Dutch capital is Philipsburg.
guidance of their chiefs
. Three hundred years after the Arawaks first arrived on St. Maarten, in the
1300s, they were defeated and forced to abandon the island by a hostile tribe of Indians originating in
South America. This new tribe was called the Carib. The Caribbean Sea was named after them. Unlike
the Arawaks, they had no permanent chiefs or leaders
, except in times of strife. And they were
extremely warlike. Worse, they were cannibalistic, eating
the enemy warriors they captured. In fact,
the very word cannibal comes from the Spanish name for the Carib Indians.
The Spanish arrived in the fifteenth century, and, unfortunately, they carried diseases to which
the Indians had no immunity. Many Indians succumbed to common European illnesses; others died
from the hard labor forced upon them.